A prestige awards competition which celebrates the best of innovation by companies working with universities in the West Midlands has officially been launched for 2009.
Now in its 12th year, the Lord Stafford Awards offer cash prizes of £5,000 in four categories with the winners announced at a ceremony being held at the Heritage Motor Centre in Gaydon on Thursday, November 12.
The aim of the awards is to showcase the best of collaboration between universities and businesses to produce groundbreaking products, processes and services.
Sponsors for the awards are Advantage West Midlands, Swindell & Pearson, MAS-WM, Clever Cherry, Ceramic Decals, Knights Solicitors and Coventry University’s Enterprise Europe Network.
Previous award winners have included Coventry University graduate Daniel Sheridan who invented a see-saw which can generate electricity to power schools in developing countries and North Staffordshire pottery manufacturers Aynsley China who linked with Staffordshire University to improve their design processes.
The awards, which have been held in the West Midlands since 1997, are now spreading nationally with the East Midlands hosting Lord Stafford Awards for the second time and the East of England having recently held their first Awards.
Awards Patron Lord Stafford said: “Innovation is more important than ever to the economy of the West Midlands as it is really the only way that we can hope to drive on when the global recession comes to an end.”
Applications are now being invited and the deadline for entries into the awards is Friday, June 19. For more information, visit www.lordstaffordawards.co.uk
